Fan hub



y '9, 1953 I A. L. HENRY 2,638,761

FAN HUB Filed Jan. 25, 1950 ARTHUR L. HENRY INVENTOR A TORNEY PatentedMay 19, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FAN HUB Arthur L. Henry, FortWorth, Tex.

Application January 23, 1950, Serial No. 140,055

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to tool improvements in hubs for electric fansand the like. Particularly, the invention has reference to fansmountedon the ends of motor shafts in evaporative coolers and whereinthe motor is substantially enclosed in a housing. Ordinarily, the hubsof the fans are secured on the shafts by means of set screws which areinwardly positioned relative to the fan opening in the cooler housing,and which screws are difficult to reach when removing the fan from itsshaft.

An object of the invention is to provide a construction and arrangementwhereby fans mounted on the ends of motor shafts may be readilyinstalled or removed from a position outwardly of the outer face of thefan and without the use of tools.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified constructionfor retaining a resilient tubular sleeve or shock absorber between thehub and the shaft.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simplified means forfirmly attaching a fan hub of a given size on different sizes of motorshafts.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a broken front elevation of a fan and fan hub embodying thefeatures of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged broken side elevation of a motor and motorshaft, and showing the present hub, in vertical section, mounted there-Figure 3 is a side elevation of an evaporative cooler housing having oneside broken away to illustrate the relative positions of the motor andfan in a typical cooler assembly.

In the drawings, the numeral l indicates an evaporative cooler housinghaving a motor I l suspended therein by means of a bracket l2. Anannular opening I3 is formed .in one side of the housing I0 and oppositethe face of a fan [4 which is mounted on the motor shaft 15. The fan I4is comprised of overlapping angularly disposed blades I6 riveted orotherwise secured to the spider H which includes a tubular hub I8integral and perpendicular with the legs thereof.

Ordinarily, the hub I8 is secured to the motor shaft l by means of a setscrew (not shown) threadedly engaged in said hub and bearing against akey-way or flat area l9 on the outer end of said shaft. In the presentinvention, the bore 20 of the hub I8 is substantially larger than thediameter of the shaft [5, and is provided with an inwardly directedannular flange 2| at its inner end adjacent the motor I I. The outer endof the hub I8 is threaded, as at 22, for threadedly receiving thethreaded end of a relatively large conical spinner 23. The baseperiphery of the spinner 23 is knurled, as at 24. Within the bore 20 ofthe hub [8 there is a tubular sleeve 25 of resilient material, such asrubber, and the length of which extends from the flange 2| outwardly andbeyond the inner end of the threads 22. Preferably, the resilient sleeve25 is a slip fit within the hub bore 20 prior to mounting the hub I8 onthe shaft I5.

In operation, the hub 18 and fan 14 are mounted on the shaft l5 byplacing the former over the latter and with the resilient sleeve 25therebetween. By reason of the relatively large diameter of the knurledbase 24, the threaded end of the spinner 23 may be rotated by hand tocompress the length of the tubular sleeve 25, thus causing the same tobe compressed and thereby reducing its inner diameter. The action causesthe material of the sleeve 25 to bear against the flat surface IS on theshaft 15, and thereby securely mount the hub l8 and fan I4 on the motorshaft. In view of the foregoing description of assembly, it will beapparent that the reduction in the inner diameter of the sleeve 25provides a means for fitting the hub assembly on motor shafts 15 ofdifferent diameters. Within the scope and intention of the invention,the flat surface IS on the shaft 15 may be eliminated by reason of thebinding effect on the compressed sleeve 25. However, the fiat surface 19is to be preferred when relatively high torque loads are involved.

The described form of the invention is not restrictive, but may be madein many ways within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

Means for mounting a fan hub on the end of a shaft projecting from amotor, and wherein said means includes a fiat surface on the projectingend of said shaft, a tubular hub body having its inside diameter greaterthan the outside diameter of said shaft and including an inwardlydirected flange on the end thereof adjacent said motor when said body ismounted on said shaft, threads in said tubular body in the end thereofopposite said flange, a tubular sleeve of resilient material receivedwithin said body and having one end thereof positioned against saidflange and having the other end thereof positioned between the ends ofsaid threads, a threaded spinner received within said threads in saidbody and adapted to bear against the end of said tubular sleeve oppositethe said end thereof in contact with said flange.

ARTHUR L. HENRY.

References Cited in the file 01' this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name Date 2,261,391 Koch Nov. 4, 1941 2,290,011 Bahr July 14,1942 2,390,168 Piot Dec. 4, 1945 2,558,589 Skolfleld June 26, 1951

